Compare and Contrast (the Discovery and Pied Beauty)

The two poems "The Discovery" by Gwendolyn MacEwen and "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Manley Hopkins have many similarities and differences. "The Discovery" by MacEwen is a poem about constant exploration and how nothing can ever fully be understood. "Pied Beauty" by Hopkins is a God fearing that is concerned with the continuous appreciation of everything God has created. Both authors depict a main central theme of an unappreciated world. However, both authors describe their themes in contradicting ways. This is extremely apparent in the poem "The Discovery" by Gwendolyn MacEwen. "The Discovery" by MacEwen is a poem about constant exploration and how nothing can never fully be understood. The author describes a world with an infinite amount of knowledge that will never be completely harnessed: "the moment when it seems most plain/is the moment in which you must begin again"(ll.13-14). MacEwen also uses this quote to illustrate the lack of observation in people. She dramatizes the stereotypical human trait that people can overlook something important that they themselves consider to be insignificant. The author then personifies the object of exploration thus allowing the reader to make a stronger connection to the theme of the poem"admit there is something else you cannot name,/a veil, a coating just above the flesh" (ll.9-8). This quote also conveys the main theme of the poem. The author explains how nothing can ever be fully understood because there is always another thing that you may not be aware of and that must be taken into account. The quote contributes to the central theme of an unappreciated world that the author asks the reader to continually explore. This theme is also mirrored in "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Hopkins. "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Hopkins is an obvious God fearing poem; this poem is concerned with the continuous appreciation of everything god has created. In this poem Hopkins describes what he considers to be a few of the many miracles of god"Glory...

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Summary: Hopkins was born in 1844, and died just 45 years later in 1889. He was a deeply intellectual
and religious man, and became a Jesuit priest in 1877, the same year of which he wrote PiedBeauty. In
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in this world (assuming that what he saw is not that far off from what we now see of course) and how
we should all “praise him”.
Significant poetic devices and their significance (eg: Metaphors, symbols, rhyme scheme, form, imagery,
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http://englishlanguageliterature.com/2012/02/13/gerard-manley-hopkins-pied-beauty-notes/
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